4 Game Changing Tips For Healthy Curls

I used to believe that curly hair care had to be extremely complicated. For one curls tends to be on the dry side, and two we often approach our curls with the idea that they are very difficult to take care of. I believe if we eliminate hair dryness and focus on hair care technique, we’ll discover that our curls are more fun than a burden. Here are 4 curly hair tips which might change the game for you completely. At least they did for me.

1. Water Your Curls Like A Plant

It took me awhile to realize that my hair loves water more than anything else. I either saturate my hair completely with water in the shower every day, or I at least spritz my hair thoroughly. It helps to know whether your curls are more like tropical plants or succulents.

Some curls need more water than others. Understanding how much water your hair needs can improve curl definition, make your hair stronger, and minimize the amount of products you need to use. Depending upon how much water you hair can retain will determine the need to seal in that moisture with an oil/butter or not at all.

2. Deal With Tangles Intelligently

If your hair stays moisturized, you will definitely experience fewer tangles. Tangling will still be apart of the equation though since that is the nature of curly hair. There are a few different ways to approach detangling your hair, and it’s a good to know which method works best for you.

Some curls thrive with pre-wash detangling sessions. By detangling your hair outside of the shower, the washing process is easier, you avoid unnecessary breakage, and you save water. Now it is determining whether to dry detangle using an oil, or to saturate your hair with water first then use a water based product/oil.

Others love just jumping into the shower and detangling there. Regardless I feel which ever method puts less stress on your hair the better. Pre-wash detangling works best for me, but since I can often sometimes be lazy, twisting my hair in sections prior to a wash stretches my curls some to help the process.

Lastly with detangling is knowing whether to use a wide tooth comb, brush, or just your fingers. Finger detangling is the most gentle method in my opinion, but it does take practice and patience. Finger detangling also helps to create curl definition for some curl types versus breaking up the curl pattern with a comb or brush.

One thing I always do is enter my detangling session with my hair shears close by. Ripping out a knot only does more damage to your hair cuticle. It is better to untangle a knot as best as you can first, then cut the small stubborn portion with sharp hair shears.

3. Don’t Over Cleanse Or You’ll Need More Products

There is often talk about one product not stripping your hair of its natural oils, but I have found that actually most products do. The products just contain oils and conditioning ingredients so that your hair doesn’t feel stripped. There is no doubt in my mind that the oils that your scalp produces conditions your hair better than any product on the market.

If your hair is on the dry side, it is literally impossible to experience these oils at all unless you stop using commercial products for two weeks to a month after a good clarifying treatment. That was the beginning of my water only hair washing experiment. If your scalp produces an excessive amount of these natural oils, you can balance the production by not over cleansing your hair as well.

From that experiment I learned that over cleansing your hair will create the necessity to use more conditioning, deep conditioning, leave-in, and moisture sealing products. I’ve also noticed that the more leave-in products that I used, even if I made them myself, the more often I needed to wash my hair. The gentler your hair cleanser the less you will need to overcompensate afterwards. Also the less you put in your hair after washing, the longer you can go inbetween washes if you’d like as well.

4. Focus On Technique, Not Products Alone

By focusing on detangling and best styling methods, you will gain the perspective that products alone are not the end all say all for curly hair. Discover if washing your hair in sections, braids, or twists makes a dramatic difference. Or notice if you do better washing all of your hair as one. Know if your hair thrives in wash and gos, or prefers stretched styles such as twist or braid outs. Do protective styles such as buns or two strand twists make life easier?

I’ve actually learned to do without most products and still have defined moisturized curls. I explain it more in my almost zero waste hair regimen. That regimen isn’t perfect since I am discovering new ways to tweak it here and there, yet my hair is still very healthy. Focusing on healthy hair care techniques can truly help your hair thrive where products alone will not.

Yea, I totally agree saturating your hair in the shower daily definitely works. I remember doing this to my hair on a consistent basis. I will just co-wash my hair daily with “Tresemme Naturals”–I did this so much I didn’t even notice my hair was growing. But, I am looking to try the water only washing. Heading to read your article on it right now LOL.

The game changers for me:
1) Adding a few drops of Lavender oil to my water spritz daily. I don’t know how it works, but it changes the quality of the water.

2) Detangling with my fingers. I found that if I work around a knot and gently come back towards the knot by detangling a few hairs at a time, I usually can work the knot out or at minimum lose only a couple of strands in the knot, instead of the whole knot. I also detangle when hair has been dampened with water or conditioner.

3) After I spritz, I add about a quarter size of conditioner( rub it in my hands) to my hair. It brings out some of the curl pattern.

4) Finally found a scarf on Amazon whose fibers doesn’t rip out my hair. Some scarves claim to be silk, but are still to rough on the cuticles.

5) I only twist set in selected places( such as the front and top) depending on the style I want, or the sections that are of a tighter texture. This has kept me from cutting sections of my hair that on appearance seem shorter.

Recently came across your blog and it has truly inspired me to look at my hair care regimen in a different way. It’s amazing how healthy your hair is by using less products. As I transition to a minimalist hair care routine I be sure to look at your blog for more ideas.

I love the idea of watering our hair daily however, with my thick low porosity hair it takes forever to dry and I find just lightly spritzing my hair in the past with just water left my hair feeling dryer that what it was before lightly spritzing it. However the past months I have neglected my hair so now working on getting it back to optimal healthy and I know proper moisturising techniques will help tremendously.

Thanks for sharing all that you do and hopefully some of these tips and techniques will help me carry on with my healthy hair journey 😀

Sometimes I find it helpful to add aloe vera to water for better moisture absorption. I shared a simple leave-in recipe years ago which I still go back to often. This recipe contains aloe and a few other ingredients plus smells wonderful too!

Another reason hair sometimes is unable to absorb water sufficiently is because of product build up. With a little TLC your hair will be back on track. Best wishes!

Hi Isis,
Lately I haven’t been using shea butter or other oils to my hair after rinsing. That has been one of the reasons I have a ton a volume. It usually doesn’t get colder in LA until mid to late October, so I have some time to make changes by then. I will be sharing an updated regimen or personal hair care tips soon.

Great post! After being natural for several years, and feeling like I have tried it all, I am reevaluating my hair care regimen a lot. I have low porosity, fine, type 4a hair. I used to rock wash and go’s a lot, but it was hard to retain length on this regimen. My hair hates most shampoos, experiences build-up very easily, hate silicones, hates butters, and so I am convinced the water-only washing is what I need to do, or at least try. Most conditioners just sit on top of my hair, beading up and looking like it’s not actually doing anything. I hope to experience more moisturized, faster growing, less shedding and less tangling hair. Thanks for your posts. They help me so much.

Thank you so much for your comment and compliment! It’s awesome that you understand what your hair doesn’t like so now it’s all about finding what your hair loves. Have you ever tried flaxseed gel? My hair is also low porosity and I’ve noticed that light moisturizers/DIY hair gels seem to help it hold moisture. I can use shea butter, yet I do so very sparingly. I don’t like for my hair too feel oily.

Water only has helped me to really understand so much more about my hair. You will need to detox your hair with bentonite clay and apple cider vinegar prior to trying water only. Even if you don’t choose to stick with it for the long run, it is so educational. I’ve shared so many DIY hair care recipes throughout the site so along check them out if you desire. Please keep us posted on how things work for you. Best wishes!

I really want to try this method of hair care, I just feel so excited about it. I noticed you recommended that a person starts by clarifying their hair with apple cider vinegar and betonite clay. Is it bad to use a shampoo (even if it’s silicone free) to clarify, and if so is it important to use both the vinegar and the clay to clarify or can you just use one?

Hi Asha,
The combination of vinegar/clay creates the ideal pH for the hair. Apple cider vinegar alone won’t fully clarify the hair even though I once believed it did. I personally wouldn’t use a store bought shampoo because you want to discover your hair free from any synthetic ingredients which can linger on the strands even after rinsing well. I hope this helps.

Hi Dawn–Always love your blog, is the clay vinager cleanse something to be performed weekly or monthly? As per another method I have been doing it weekly and I noticed my low porosity hair behaving more like high porosity.

Hi Canela,
The clay and vinegar hair wash is a clarifying treatment. It removes product build up and detoxes the hair. If you are using very heavy products which build up on the hair and scalp then this wash is helpful. Also if you have clarified your hair thoroughly at this point, you may only need to use it monthly or as needed. I hope this helps and thanks for your kind words!